WHERE WE STAND: Christie should heed poll on rebuilding

Residents understand that dollars must be spent wisely at the shore.

The public supports spending tax dollars to rebuild the Jersey Shore, a new poll by the Monmouth University Polling Institute has found, but it also wants to make sure the money is spent wisely. Gov. Chris Christie should take note of these results.

While he and other top administrative officials have been largely silent on how strong a role the state should take in the rebuilding process, President Barack Obama on Friday issued an executive order creating a federal task force to "provide the coordination that is necessary" to support rebuilding efforts. Christie should take note of that as well.

The language of the executive order underscores Obama's belief that the rebuilding process must address "existing and future risks and vulnerabilities" and promote the "long-term sustainability of communities and ecosystems." Among those vulnerabilities are "extreme weather events" and "regional resilience in responding to future impacts."

Obama's executive order, and the majority of respondents to the Polling Institute survey, underscore the importance of rebuilding in a measured, systematic way.

Nearly two-thirds of those polled favor allowing state regulators to determine which areas along the coast can or cannot be rebuilt based on storm risk. Two-thirds also support a short-term moratorium on rebuilding in high-risk areas to allow time for new plans and codes to be developed. Eighty-seven percent favor requiring stricter storm-resistant building codes. Seventy-two percent favor creating a state coastal commission to coordinate planning and rebuilding along the shore.

Nearly seven in 10 favor allowing beachfront homeowners to rebuild only if they agree to have dunes or sea walls placed in front of their property, even if it blocks their view of the ocean.

Based on the few hints that have come from the Christie administration on rebuilding policy, the thrust seems to be on letting individual homeowners and municipalities make their own decisions. New Jersey residents, at least, seem to understand that doing so simply invites more costly destruction down the road.

Considering the billions of public dollars it will take to recover from Sandy, and also considering that if a future hurricane slams the shore, our state would expect federal aid again, it is only logical that things are rebuilt differently, that more protections are put in place and that we pay mind to changing sea levels and weather patterns in choosing which lots should be rebuilt and which shouldn't.

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WHERE WE STAND: Christie should heed poll on rebuilding

The public supports spending tax dollars to rebuild the Jersey Shore, a new poll by the Monmouth University Polling Institute has found, but it also wants to make sure the money is spent wisely. Gov.